Natural trails and hiking in Cyprus

If you want to discover another side of Cyprus rather than beach resorts then a hiking is a great choice. There are a lot of natural trails with different levels of difficulty which will let you to explore the beautiful nature of Cyprus. You can find natural trails in and around every city. There are good markings so they are easy to follow even for novices. The most popular and beautiful natural trails are located in Troodos Mountains and the Akamas area in Paphos. Although, there are more than 52 natural trails to discover throughout Cyprus. Some of them are circular and some are linear.

There are 3 levels of difficulties of natural trails as follows:

Category 1: Easy trails suitable for all ages and physical shape. For example: the Persephone Trail is linear and starts at 150 m south of Troodos Square. It is 3 km long and is rich with vegetation and has amazings views from Makria Kontarka. Points of interest are rich vegetation and amazing views from Makria Kontarka.

Category 2: Medium difficulty, suitable for adults in generally average to good physical shape. For example: the Agia Varvara-Stavrovouni-Stavropefkos-Aspradi Trail which is also linear. It starts at Agia Varvara church, near Stavrovouni monastery and is 3 km long with wonderful views towards Larnaca and Nicosia.

Category 3: High degree of difficulty. Suitable only for adults in good or very good physical shape. For example the Ariadni Trail that is circular and starts from the ‘Tree Tops hotel’ and is 5 Km in total. There are amazing views, rich vegetation and picturesque traditional mountain villages. This course is estimated to take about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Hikers who decide to visit the natural trails can enjoy discovering many plants, fauna’s and may even see the Cyprus mouflon along the way. You can also discover beautiful monasteries or tiny, ornately painted Byzantine churches and small, quaint mountain villages. You can relax in the peacefulness of nature where it seems that time stands still.

There are various hiking clubs in Cyprus - most of which are free and tourist friendly. The clubs that require a fee are mostly organized by tourist agencies. If you do not want to join a group you can always get a map and more details about nature trails in the local tourist information office or hotel.